Rumplestiltskin opened his eyes. He'd arrived some place dark, much darker than the forest had been. As he waited a moment for his vision to adjust, he could tell by the ambient scents and echoes that he was in a cave of some kind. Likely the Queen's dungeons.

Somewhere ahead, there was a scuffle. A brief, hesitant movement.

"Who's there?" Belle's voice came, sharp and quick. He could tell she was trying to mask her fear.

He cleared his throat.

"Oh, you came!" she appeared before him then, and without hesitation, she flung her arms around his neck.

"Of course I came. I had no choice."

She pulled away. "Oh. Right," she said, offering the dagger to him. "I better give this back."

"You hold onto it, dear," he instructed. "I've no place to hide it." Quickly, Belle slipped it back into her garter.

"Can you get us out of here?" she asked.

"Hold onto me."

Belle clutched his shoulders, and he snaked his arms around her waist as though preparing to whisk her into dance once again. Closing his eyes, he pictured a safe place, far away…distant mountains that he frequented as a boy.

Nothing happened.

"Well?" Belle asked impatiently.

"It's not working," he grumbled.

"What?"

"Wait…you have the dagger. Command me."

"I order you to get us out of here, Rumplestiltskin."

Despite the stinging provocation in the recesses of his brain, he could not comply.

"It's not working," he hissed through his teeth.

And then, a woman's laugh came, ominous and sinister, from somewhere within the depths of the cavern. Rumplestiltskin growled. He turned, pulling Belle protectively behind him.

From the shadows she appeared, the Evil Queen, ornamented in all her nefarious glory. She glided toward them with chin held high, poised like the menacing serpent she was.

"Oh, Rumple," the Queen chuckled. She drew close and circled the pair, her pace languid and unhurried. "You and this ridiculous girl! How predictable you are. This was almost too easy. A bit disappointing, really. Love truly is our greatest downfall. And—I daresay you're quite the cradle-robber. How old are you now?"

"As far as looks go, some might say I'm younger than you, dearie."

The Queen stopped in her tracks and shot him a sour glare before continuing. "I'll cut to the chase. Tell me where the dagger is, and I'll let your little lamb go free."

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea as to which dagger you might be referring to."

Rumplestiltskin was furious. He'd gone through extraneous lengths to ensure that no one, no one even had knowledge of the dagger's existence. How did the Queen come to learn of it? The only person that knew anything about the dagger had been his son, and—

"I'm not going to play games with you, imp. It wasn't at the Dark Castle. So you've either moved it, or…" she trailed off, her dark gaze falling on Belle.

"You know what?" the Queen asked, the sinister grin returning to her crimson lips. "Let's make this as simple as possible. I'll make you a deal. Either you give me the dagger now, or you will be responsible for Belle's death. I'll make sure word gets to her father…about how you tortured your little 'caretaker'…and then killed her."

Rumplestiltskin made as if to lunge at the deceptive wench, but Belle, bless her heart, stopped him. He waved his hand instead, but only a few pitiful sparks fizzled forth from his fingertips.

The Queen's teeth gleamed in the dim light. "Your magic is useless against me in this place."

He curled his outstretched fingers into a fist.

"At the stroke of midnight I will return," the Queen resumed, the mirth in her voice dissolving. "With Belle's father and his men. If the location of the dagger is not revealed to me then," her gaze lingered on Rumplestiltskin as she looked him over, "I will let them have their way with you."

A trembling sneer curled at the corner of his lip. The Queen could not intimidate him. They'd been through this before, many times…constantly at each other's throats. The never ending power struggle. Oh, but it would end tonight. That he could be sure of.

With a flourish of her cloak, the Queen was gone.

"Let's get out of here. Now," Belle insisted.

"Not possible, dearie. This place is a labyrinth. Enchanted, of course."

"You know it?"

Rumplestiltskin sighed irately. "I built it. It belongs to her, now…there is only one way out. She has to let us out. Or else we wander to our deaths. Well, to your death, anyway."

Belle looked at him in horror. "Why in the world would you build a place like this?"

He shrugged. "I always enjoyed a good puzzle."